Impact resistant, thin ply composite structures and method of manufacturing same

Abstract

A reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) composite material has improved impact resistance. The RCC composite material is formed from a fiber reinforcement of layers or plies of thin ply carbon fiber fabric impregnated with a carbon matrix. Carbon nanotube reinforcement in the matrix further improves impact resistance. The stacking arrangement of the plies of the thin ply fabric also further improves impact resistance.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 643,243, filed on Jan. 12, 2005, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 645,797, filed on Jan. 21, 2005, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]This invention was made under Air Force SBIR Contract # FA8650-05-M-5030. The government may have certain rights in this invention.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Carbon-carbon (C / C) composite materials offer excellent combinations of specific thermal conductivity and specific stiffness. Also, C / C offers low density, high stiffness, low coefficient of thermal expansion, zero outgassing in the space environment, and a unique high temperature capability. C / C composites graphitized to temperatures greater than 2200° C. provide high through-the-thickness (kz) conduction of 25 to 100 W / m-K (compared to kz=1-5 W / ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is a carbon-carbon composite material that uses thin plies of woven carbon fiber and carbon nanotube toughening to create a more uniform and impact-resistant structure. This allows for the manufacture of thinner-walled components with the same mechanical properties as thicker parts made by conventional technology, resulting in lighter structures."

Problems solved by technology

The performance and range of applications of these materials are limited, however, by their relatively high susceptibility to impact damage.

For example, the space shuttle Columbia accident is believed to have been caused by impact damage to the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) leading edge thermal protection system.

The brittle nature of the RCC may be due to the conventional 2D or 2.5D carbon fiber ply architecture.

Using carbon nanotubes (CNTS) alone as reinforcement to enhance the mechanical properties of a material is challenging.

In particular, dispersing CNTs to obtain uniform distributions in a composite is difficult.

The use of CNTs is also costly, particularly at such large volumes.

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